Europe

KeKi is an interdisciplinary centre, supported by an interuniversity platform of researchers affiliated with the following institutions: University of Antwerp, Free University of Brussels, Ghent University, University College Ghent and University of Leuven. The establishment of KeKi was envisaged in the Decree of 18 July 2008 regarding a Flemish youth and children’s rights policy. KeKi is operational since 1 January 2010, with the support of the Flemish authorities.

The department is currently offering bachalor and master degree in social policy and social work The department's study programs focus on the following areas: Work with the family and high-risk children and teenagers, social work in the criminal justice system, social administration, psychosocial assistance and crisis intervention. The department's academic staff also include experts in the area of human rights, psychiatry, healthcare and work with refugees.

The mission of the centre is to interconnect research, educational and advisory activities that actually reflect regional, national and international questions withing the social and health area. The centre links to lifelong education and to the International Certification course and Ph.D.

The Children's Research Centre was established in 1995 and is a joint initiative of the School of Psychology and the School of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity College Dublin. The Centre undertakes multi-disciplinary, policy and practice-relevant research on issues concerning children and young people and the contexts within which they live their lives.

Undertakes and promotes policy analysis and research into all aspects of children's rights and well-being; provides a forum for international professional exchanges; advocates and disseminates ideas and results of research; the Centre contributes to the intellectual leadership of UNICEF and supports organization-wide policies and actions for the implementation of the Millennium Development Agenda and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

The aim of the centre is to provide higher education in Childhood Studies and to initiate and carry out research on the life worlds of children and childhood. An important task is to create comprehensive insights in and understanding of the conditions under which children live and of the basic premises of childhood in different social and cultural contexts.

NOVA is a research institute under the auspices of the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. The aim of the institute is to develop knowledge and understanding of social conditions and processes of change. We focus on issues of life-course events, level of living conditions and aspects of life-quality as well as on programmes and services provided by the welfare system.

Established in 2003, Institute for Labour and Family Research – ILFR (formerly Centre for Work and Family Studies) has research work as its main activity. It is focused on the sociological study in the field of social and family policy, labour market and employment policy, industrial relations and working conditions and in the field of occupational safety and health. Current priorities are social protection and support for young researchers.

The Catalan Interdisciplinary Research Network on Children’s Rights and Children’s Quality of Life (X.C.I.I.I.) is formed by twelve research groups at five Catalan universities and consists of seventy-six researchers. From its beginning the network has been interdisciplinary and is composed of researchers in the fields of psychology, pedagogy mass-media and social education. This network began with Catalan research collaboration and is now linked with other countries, mainly European ones, related with social perspectives of studying childhood as a group of the major population. The main principle that guides our work is the Declaration of Children’s Rights as set out in the UN convention and the promotion of children’s quality of life.

The Centre For Family Research has a worldwide reputation for innovative research that increases understanding of children, parents and family relationships with a focus in topics that are of relavance to public policy, health care and people's lives.

The Centre for Research on the Child and Family aims: To advance our knowledge of the effectiveness and efficiency of children's services across the statutory, voluntary and independent sectors; To advance our conceptual understanding of the psychosocial development of children and the diverse meanings of family life across the life span in a changing and multi-cultural society; To contribute and to disseminate policy and practice knowledge which will enhance the well being of children in their families and communities; To work in collaboration with or on behalf of child and family agencies in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors in the United Kingdom and overseas.

The Centre for Rural Childhood, based at Perth College UHI, was established in May 2007 with the primary aim of contributing to the development of policy and practice on all aspects of the life experiences of children, particularly those born into and/or brought up in a rural environment. Much of the focus on children’s issues has been on the urban child and the CRC is one of the first to spotlight ‘rural’ childhood and to address issues as they affect children through a rural lens.

Established in 1995, The Institute of Child Care Research (ICCR) is a core funded research unit located in the School of Sociology Social Policy and Social Work in Queens University Belfast. The aim of the Institute is to play a key role in influencing the development of child care policy and practice in Northern Ireland. In pursuit of this aim the Institute has three major objectives: 1)Identify and conduct original research into child care needs and services through using and developing a mix of research methods and varied forms of dissemination; 2)Offer training and consultation on undertaking and applying child care research; 3)Provide postgraduate research supervision for postgraduate students undertaking and completing child care research. These aims and objectives are underpinned by United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Established in 1991 to increase the number of lawyers working in children's rights, the Programme on International Rights of the Child was the first university based centre on the international rights of the child.